Thank you for considering participating in this survey research project. The goal of the survey is to learn more about your views about pop culture, media, public affairs, and current events. You have been invited because you are a college student. You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Please make sure to turn the sound for your computer to "on." You will be watching a short video, and will need to use speakers or your headphones to hear the audio.

For your participation, you will be entered into a raffle with the chance to win a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate. Three study participants will be randomly selected to win the $100 Amazon.com gift certificates. There are no restrictions to winning this prize, winners will be drawn randomly from the participant pool, and the sponsor of the drawing will be Dr. Calvert Jones with research funding from the University of Maryland-College Park. The odds of winning will depend on the number of participants. 

The web survey will take about 20 to 30 minutes of your time, reading and watching some excerpts from popular works of fiction and answering some questions. An example of a question is, "How frequently would you say you sit down to read a book for pleasure (not for work or school)?

There are no known risks to participation, but if you feel uncomfortable you can skip questions or even drop out completely. The research is not designed to benefit you personally, but the results may help the investigators learn more about media and American youth attitudes. Your participation is voluntary, and you are free to decline to participate or end participation at any time without penalty or loss of compensation. Your responses will be completely confidential. Your name will not be collected on the surveys, but to participate in the raffle you will need to supply a valid email address. (Winners will need to supply name, address, and SSN, per university requirements.) All data will be kept in an encrypted, password-protected Excel file, and no one will have access to it except the researchers. Data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate. 

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact: University of Maryland-College Park, Institutional Review Board Office, 1204 Marie Mount Hall, College Park, MD 20742, phone: 301-405-0678; email: irb@umd.edu; or Nancy Dufau, Director of Research & Sponsored Programs, Beatty Hall, Suite 116, Baltimore, MD 21210; phone: 410-617-2004; email: irb@loyola.edu.

Thank you so much for your time and interest, and we wish you the best of luck in winning one of the $100 Amazon.com gift certificates!

To take the survey, please check one of the following options: